Hesitancy over federal government’s social media ban

All sides of politics are airing concerns about Australia’s proposed world-first social media ban for kids under 16.

Coalition senator Matt Canavan says he is still unsure if he will support the Albanese government’s social media ban for kids under 16.

The world-leading policy has received broad support in principle, but parliamentarians have had little time to scrutinise the legislation and privacy has emerged as a key concern for the opposition.

Senator Canavan said on Tuesday he understood the need for the ban but did not think there was a need “to rush it”.

Coalition senator Matt Canavan says he is still unsure if he will support the government’s social media ban. Picture: NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“I certainly think the Bill needs major changes, and regardless of the changes, I remain unimpressed with this condensed timeframe to analyse the Bill,” Senator Canavan told the ABC.

“There is widespread support across the parliament for something like this.

“And given that, there’s just no real need, I think, to rush it.

“I don’t think that support is going to somehow disappear over the summer break.

“We can, I think, just pause here, come back and do this.”

Senator Canavan also said the ban would affect social media users of all ages “because once you have to try and verify someone’s age under 16, you’re going to have to verify everyone’s age to check their age”.

The Greens have also taken issue with the lack of scrutiny over the ban, with MP Max Chandler Mather saying there were “a lot of unresolved questions”.

Meanwhile, independent MP Zoe Daniel said the legislation let social media platforms “off the hook”.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel says the social media ban would let platforms ‘off the hook’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

She introduced her alternative proposal in a private member’s Bill on Monday.

“We need to get the platforms to take responsibility for what is in their environment, and actually, it would make an age ban redundant if we were to put in this kind of safety by design and a duty of care and hold the platforms accountable for what’s happening in their spaces,” she told the ABC.

“You wouldn’t actually need an age ban.”

Originally published as Hesitancy over federal government’s social media ban